motor

styla21 · 10-18-2008, 05:16 AM

Results from qualifying:
Hamilton eases to pole position in Shanghai

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton looked to be in trouble when his first Q3 qualifying run Shanghai yielded only third place as he got into a big slide in Turn Eight, but he put that right when it mattered to grab pole position for the Chinese Grand Prix with a lap of 1m 36.303s.

That comfortably outpaced the Ferrari of 2007 winner Kimi Raikkonen, who lapped in 1m 36.645s to beat team mate Felipe Massa. The Brazilian recorded 1m 36.889s. Right at the end Fernando Alonso jumped up to fourth for Renault with 1m 36.927s, while early pacesetter Heikki Kovalainen made an error on his second run and had to be content with fifth on 1m 36.930s.

Mark Webber put his Red Bull sixth with 1m 37.083s but drops to 16th because of his engine-change penalty incurred when his Renault V8 blew up in practice this morning. Thus Nick Heidfeld, seventh on 1m 37.201s for BMW Sauber, will start sixth ahead of the Toro Rossos of Sebastian Vettel and Sebastien Bourdais, and Jarno Trulli's Toyota which split them. They lapped respectively in 1m 37.685s, 1m 37.934s and 1m 38.885s.

Renault's Nelson Piquet was the first to lose out in Q2 with 1m 35.722s but will start 10th ahead of title contender Robert Kubica, who had a disastrous time in the second BMW when 1m 35.814s proved insufficient to get him through to Q3 just when he needed that most.

Timo Glock was 13th overall for Toyota on 1m 35.937s ahead of Honda's Rubens Barrichello (1m 36.079s) and Williams' Nico Rosberg (1m 36.210s). They will start 12th, 13th and 14th as Webber drops. And while David Coulthard was the first of the fallers in Q1, wheeling his Red Bull round in 1m 36.731s ahead of Kazuki Nakajima's Williams (1m 36.863s) and Jenson Button's Honda (1m 37.053s), the Scot will actually start ahead of his Australian team mate.

Right at the back were the Force Indias, with Adrian Sutil again acing team mate Giancarlo Fisichella, 1m 37.730s to 1m 37.739s.

styla21 · 10-19-2008, 05:53 PM

Hamilton wins in China, Massa keeps title hopes alive. McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton did everything but win the title in Shanghai on Sunday, as he scored his fifth victory of the season in a pluperfect style that left championship rival Felipe Massa floundering in his wake. The Brazilian ran third for much of the race, astern of Ferrari team mate Kimi Raikkonen as they struggled vainly to keep the McLaren in sight. Then on lap 49 the Finn conceded second place, so that Massa left China with 87 points to Hamilton’s 94 - and with his admittedly fading championship aspirations still alive. Raikkonen stayed clear of a closing Fernando Alonso, who pushed hard all the way through for Renault, and Nick Heidfeld led BMW Sauber team mate Robert Kubica home as the Pole saw his own title hopes die. His three points leave him on 75, too far behind Hamilton. The race started with a bang. Hamilton easily beat the Ferraris into the first corner and Alonso finally got the better of McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen as they duelled over fourth. Further back, however, Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Bourdais tipped Jarno Trulli’s Toyota into a spin. The Frenchman was badly delayed; the Italian made one pit stop at the end of the lap and another a lap later, to retire. Adrian Sutil and Kovalainen were the only other non-finishers. The Force India stopped on the entry to the pits on lap 13, and Kovalainen, whose McLaren had been smoking on the grid, fell from fifth place to the tail of the field on lap 35 when its right front Bridgestone tyre failed. Later he parked the car in the garage with a mechanical problem. A one-stop strategy worked well for Timo Glock as he brought the second Toyota home seventh ahead of Nelson Piquet, who had a strong run in the other Renault. There were no points for Sebastian Vettel and Toro Rosso as they finished ninth, ahead of Red Bull’s David Coulthard and an aggressive Rubens Barrichello who was on good form for Honda. Kazuki Nakajima was another one-stopper, finishing 12th ahead of Bourdais, Red Bull’s Mark Webber, Williams team mate Nico Rosberg, Honda’s Jenson Button and Giancarlo Fisichella in the second Force India. The race did not, in the end, clinch the title for Hamilton, but it did exorcise the ghost of Fuji and it leaves him needing only four points in Brazil. That means he can let the Ferraris and Alonso do what they like, as fifth place will do the job whatever Massa achieves.

Mattk · 10-19-2008, 10:41 PM

A very dominant race for Hamilton. No-one could catch him. The Ferraris could only match him at best. But, Massa wll still have Alonso up his sleeve: http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/mot...750287952.html

styla21 · 10-20-2008, 12:25 AM

Originally Posted by Mattk

But, Massa wll still have Alonso up his sleeve: http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/mot...750287952.html

I've watched the media blow Alonso's comment out of proportion this last week. He commented that he would prefer to see Massa win over the Mclarens. He wasn't derogatory, and later likened his comment to barracking for someone on a tennis court. Given his experience at Mclaren last year, it's understandable.

Maybe i'm just being sensitive to journalistic misrepresentation, given how the British press totally misconstrued (fabricated) Mark Webber's comments this week also.

blue8 · 10-22-2008, 10:20 AM

The race was so boring especially after Belgium, Italy, Singapore and Japan! I hope the final race doesn't end up like this. Imagine if Hamilton and Massa end up crashing in the first corner handing the McLaren driver the championship... terrible!

Very unfortunate also that Kubica is out of the championship. Jacques Villeneuve and Mark Webber said that he deserved to win because he was the most consistent driver and made the least number of mistakes all year. Oh well, there is next year

nthfinity · 10-22-2008, 11:11 AM

The old point system weighted the win far more.... too bad

fordgt84 · 10-23-2008, 09:18 AM

Originally Posted by blue8

The race was so boring especially after Belgium, Italy, Singapore and Japan!

Glad to see i wasn't the only one who felt this way... it was almost drama free, except at the begining with that incident between Bourdais and Trulli, and ofcourse Kovolainen's puncture.. i guess if we get a taste of drama we crave for more hehehe.

anyways i'm hoping Hamilton takes the championship, glad he did a good job in china (he stayed calm thank god).. cant wait for the final showdown in Brazil.